Machine for packing powdered or mastic material.



110.851,791. PATPNTPD APR. so, 1907.

v. G. APPLE. AMAGHINP: P0P PACKING POWDPPPD 011 MAsTIo MATERIAL.

APPLICATIoN FILED Nov. e, 1905.

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PATENTED APR. 30, 1907.

V. G. APPLE.. MAGHINBFOR PACKING POWDBRBD 0R MAsTIo MATERIAL.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 6, 1905.

' 'lamme-SHEET 2.

@WQMMM ww@ N PATENTED APR. 30, 1907.

V. G. APPLE. MACHINE POR PACKING POWDERLD 0R MASTIC MATERIAL.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 6. 1905.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

No. 851,791. PATENTED APR. 3o, 1907.

V. G. APPLE. l MACHINE FOR PACKING POWDERBD 0R MASTIG MATERIAL. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII 0V. 6, 1905.

Ill A. ummm A Imm! ,Ime nim No. 851,791. y PATENTED APR. 30, 1907. V. G. APPLE.

MACHINE FOR PACKING POWDERBD OR MASTIC MATERIAL.

APPLICATION IILBD NOV. 6, 1905.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

No. 851,791. PATENTBD APR. 30, 1907.

V. G. APPLE.

MACHINE FOR PACKING POWDERED 0R MASTIC MATERIAL.

APPLICATION FILED'Nov. e. 1905.

- 7SHBETS-SHEBT 6.

PATENTED APR. 30, 1907.

V. G. APPLE. MACHINE FOR PACKING POWDERBD OR MASTIC MATERIAL.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 6, 1905.

7 SHEETS-SHEET '7.

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VINCENT G. APPLE, OF DAYTON, OHIO.

MACHINE FOR PACKlNGiPOWDERED OF? IVlASTlC MATERIAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 80, 1907'.

Application tiled November 6,1905. Serial No. 286,091,

To (.I/Z/ whom t 'nz/ty concern:

Be it known that 1, VINCENT G. APPLE, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Dayton, in the county of Montgomery and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Packing Powdered or Mastic Material, of which the following is specification.

My invention relates to improvements in machines for packing powdered or mastic material, and has particular reference in the embodiment herein shown and described, to a machine for packing powdered, granular, or mastic material into the containing casings of electrical batteries known as dry cells, although obviously the teachings of my invention herein disclosed are applicable to the packing of all sorts of materials in various styles of receptacles.

ln general the obj ect of my invention is to provide a machine which will automatically pack powdered or mastic substances into suitable receptacles, such as battery cells, but more specifically an object -of the invention is to provide a device of the character described whereby the material will be packed into the receptacle under pressure throughout.

Another object of my invention is to provide a machine largely automatic in its operations which can be readily operated by unskilled labor.

Other and further objects will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, showing in some detail an operfitive machine constructed in accordance with my invention.

In said drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine with parts broken away. Fig. 2 is a central, longitudinal, vertical section through the machine. Fig. 3 is an end view thereof looking from the right end of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an elevation of a fragment of the machine looking from the side opposite that shown m Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail ol a portion of the mechanism.

Fig. 6 is a transverse section on line 6-6 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 7 is a sectional detail on line 7--7 of Fig. 2. Figs. S and 9 are diagrammatic views showing different opei'ations of the machine.

Throughout the drawings like numerals of reference refer always to like parts.

In the drawings 10 indicates in general a frame, which consists of a platform or table,

l l l 1 11, suitably supported as upon the legs 12, provided on its upper surface with a guideway 13 extending longitudinally of the frame.

14 indicates in general a carriage mounted for longitudinal movement in the guide 13 and comprising in general a hopper 15 and a shaft bearing portion 16.

13 indicates a gib for taking up the play of the carriage in its guide 13.

The hopper 15 is preferably relatively tall and narrow, as shown in section in Fig. 6, and is provided with a rounded bottom, and an opening 17 in one side, for purposes to be described.

18 indicates in general a conveyor screw, such as is called in the practical terminology of the art an Iauger extending longitudinally through the hopper, and having its thread fitted closely in the rounded bottom thereof, one extremity vof said auger passing through an aperture 19 in the end of the hopper projecting theiebeyond toward what I may term the front end of the machine. Surrounding the projecting portion of the auger is a thin hollow mandrel 20 of suitable shape to receive and support the battery casing B, or other receptacle to be filled,

At its opposite end the auger terminates in an Unthreaded portion 1S rigidly secured to a shaft 21 of smaller diameter than said portion 18, and finding an end bearing for the annular end portion surrounding said shaft 21, against a shoulder 16 formed in the shaftbearing portion 16 of the carriage 1-1. The shaft 2.1 extends longitudinally the remainder of the length of the machine, and at its end finds loose bearing in a sleeve 22, suitably supported as by bearing bracket 23, and carrying a driving pulley 24, having Iixedly connected therewith one element 25 of a clutch of any suitable description, such as the positive tooth clutch shown. Mounted for reciprocatioii relative thereto, upon the shaft 21, is the opposite clutch member 26, having a sliding but non-rotatable connection with the said shaft as by a key 27 fixed to the clutch member and taking into a slot in the shaft. The hub of the clutch member 26 is extended to form a long bearing 2S taking into a suitable recess 16 formed therefor in the bearing member 16 of the carriage 14, so that said bearing member may slide relative to the clutch. lt will thus be seen that the driving mechanism of the auger 18 is arranged to rotate the auger when the clutch 25-26 is closed, but to permit axial or longi- IOC IIC

tudinal movement of the auger relative to the bodily stationary driving mechanism.

Rigidly fixed to the sleeve 28 of the clutch member 26 is a wide faced gear wheel 29, meshing with the narrower gear Wheel V upon a countershaft 31, in such manner that the movement of the clutch member 26`to and from to open and closed position does not cause the disengagement of the gears 29 and 80. The counter shaft 31, whereon the gear 30 is secured against rotation, extends longitudinally between suitable brackets 32`32, and carries a conveyer roll 33 of less length than the opening 17 of the hopper 15, and so disposed in relation to said opening that material carried by the belt 34 running over said roll may be delivered into the hopper. The relative lengths of the roll 33 and the opening 17 of the hopper should be such as to permit the full movement of the hopper during the operation of the machine without interference with the roll. As best shown in F ig. 3, the belt 34 extends to a source of material supply 35, comprising in general an open mouthed hopper 36, a roll 37 for the belt, and a gage 38, adjustable in relation to the carrying surface of the belt to regulate the amount of material which may be conveyed by the belt, in a manner which will be well undersood by those skilled in the art.

When the material employed is mastic or| liable to stick to the conveyer belt, I prefer to provide in conjunction with the hopper a scraper 39 in the form of a suitably shaped spring plate having its edge pressing against the belt 34, where it enters the aperture 17 of the hopper. A

40 indicates a stop or abutment against which the receptacle may bear during the filling operation to prevent it from moving axially under the pressure applied by the operation of the auger 18. The stop 40 is vertically movable to and from operative position in a suitable guide 40, and I provide in my machine for the automatic actuation of the abutment 40, and of the movable clutch member 26, to withdraw the abutment and open the clutch when the carriage and conveyer reach their limit vof movement away from the stop 40, or as I will term it, of rearward movement.

41 indicates the controlling rod extending longitudinally of the machine, and disposed for longitudinal reciprocation, said rod being at one end connected as at 42 to a clutch shipper lever 43, pivoted as at 44 in suitable bearings, and at `its upper end pivotally connected to the movable element of the clutch 26, in the usual manner as shown at 45. At its opposite end the con-trolling rod 41 is pivotally connected as at 46 to the short arm of the bell crank lever 47, pivoted as at 48, and having its longer arm taking through a slot 49 in the guide 40 and operatively associated with the stop 40 to vertically move the same into and out of axial alinement with the auger 18.

lt will now be apparent that movement of the controlling rod toward the rear end of the machine simultaneously draws the abutment 40 to position below the top of the table and opens the clutch.

50 indicates a depending arm secured to the under side of the carriage 14 and taking through a suitable slot 51 provided therefor in the table. The lower end of the arm 50 is arranged for contact with an adjustable collar 52, provided upon the controller rod 41 in such position that the collar 52 is engaged by the arm 50, and the controller rod thereby moved rearwardly, reaches its rearward limit of operative movement.

I provide means for maintaining constant pressure upon the auger and its carriage, tending to resist movement of the auger toward the rear of the machine and restore it to its forward limit of movement whenever so moved. Such means in the embodiment shown comprises a weight 53 secured to a cord 54 running over a pulley 55 suitably mounted in the frame, and secured to the arm 50. It will be apparent that said weight constantly tends to move the carriage toward the'forward end of the machine, and that the tension exerted may be varied by varying the number of removable weights 53 applied to the cord. As best shown in Fig. 5, I also provide releasable means for preventing such return movements of the carriage and auger, such means in the specific embodiment shown comprising a rack 56, secured to the under side of the carriage and taking through a suitable'aperture 57 provided therefor in the bed or table of the machine, and associated therewith, a pawl 58, adapted to engage said rack to prevent the forward movement of the same, and normally held in position to engage the rack. The pawl, 58, is pivotally mounted as at 59 in a suitable bracket 60, and is maintained in engagement with rack 56 under tension of an expansion spring 61, arranged as hereafter described.

For disengaging the releasable pawl 58 from the rack 56 I provide a starting lever 62 with which is connected a link 63 pivotally connected to said pawl at its upper end, and intermediate its ends provided with a collar 64 encircling the rod 41 so loosely as to permit vertical play of the link 63, and with a yoke 65 open longitudinally of the machine and having the lateral slot 66.

APivotally mounted on the bracket 60 is a bell-crank lever 68, the shorter arm of which extends into operative proximity to the operating rod 41, and the longer arm of which, indicated at 68 takes through the opening in the yoke 65, and is provided with a lateral pin 69 engaging the slot 66. The spring' 61 just' as the carriage IOO IOS

for the pawl 58, bears upon the upper surlaee of the arm 68 and an oppositely acting or contracting coil spring 7 0 is connected between the extremity ot the arm 6H and a suitable support 7l. A collar 72 is provided upon the operating rod 41 in position to be engaged and moved Vforwardly by the arm (S o'l` the bell crank when the longer arm 68/ thereof is depressed.

ln the use of my machine Vlor packing battery cells it is ol course desirable that provision should be made `for inserting the central carbon in the cell, and to this end .l make the iilling extremity of the auger 18 hollow, as indicated at 18 in Fig. 5, the recess being of proper diameter to receive the carbon C to be employed, and in such recess l arrange a coiled spring 75 arranged to press upon the end et' the carbon C. tending constantly to thrust the same outward from the auger.

The machine which l have herein shown is obviously best adapted Vfor round earbons, but it will be apparent that a suitable holder might be employed to take a l'lat or other shaped carbon, the holder litting, in the ce tral bore of the auger. y

To prevent the deterioration ol the machine, due to the corroding e'l'l'ect ol" the acid battery compound, l prefer that the surlaces of the hopper, auger and mandrel be coated with porcelain, or other acid resisting composition.

Having thus described my machine, l will now describe its operation in the lilling o't` battery cells.

Assuming the parts to be in the position shown in Fig. 2, that is to say, with the battery cell B in place upon the mandrel, the carbon C in the bore 18, the stop or abutment 40 is raised to operative position and the clutch closed to connect the auger shaft with the pulley tor rotation, it will be appar- `ent that the rot-ation of the auger in proper direction, as indicated by the arrow on pulley 24, forces the powdered or mastic mate rial from the hopper 15 through the hollow mandrel 20 and into the battery cell around the Acarbon C. As soon as this packing feed commences the auger starts to move rear-` Wardly, driving with it the sliding carriage,

the movement of said parts being resisted by the weight which opposes a constant resistance to such movement, and thereby determines the pressure under which the material is packed in the battery casing. When now the casing is practically lilled to the properdegree, the arm 5() ol" the carriage strikes the collar 52 upon the operating rod 41, and moves said rod reznwvardly, thereby throwing the parts to position shown in Fig. S, the rod acting as heretofore described through its proper connections at opposite ends, to open the clutch and depress the stop 40, so that the lilled battery cell may be removed from the machine and a new casing slipped upon the mandrel. The movement ol" the operating rod also brings the collar 72 into engagenient with the short arm ot the bell crank lever eS, and it will be noted that the slot and pin connection (i6, (it), of" the bell crank lever with the starting rod (52S is such as to permit some slight play ol" the lever should the collar 72 be so set as to strike the crank arm (i8 before reaching its exact limit ol movement. lt will be noted that this automatic moi/'ement does not release the pawl 5S from its ratchet 5G, so that the oarriage and auger are held in their rearmost position until voluntarily .released by the operator. When now the lresh battery casing is in place, and the operator desires to start the machine, he depresses the lever 62, which through its direct link connection 63 depresses the pawl 5F, throwing it out ol' engagement with its rack 5G and l'reeing the iage and auger to slide to l'orwardmost position under the influence ol' the weight 53. This movement ot the Vtoot lever (52 also causes the top ol the slot (i6 to engage the pin (it) of the bell crank lever GS, depressing the longer arm ol" the lever against the tension ot its spring 7() and lorcing its shorter arm lorward so that it presses the collar 72 Forward to initial position, this operation ot the parts being best illustrated in Fig. 9. This lorward movement oil' the operating rod il restores the abutment 4() to operative position and closes the clutch to again start the machine in operation. .ltelnoval ol the 'foot ol" the operator `l'rom the lever (i2 lurther|m re, permits the strong spring 7() to instantly restore the lever to raised position and the pawl to engage with its rack 56. lt is to be seen, however, that as the pawl mechanism operates only in one direction, any slowness ol the operator in releasing the starting lever has no detrinuntal eil'ect upon the machine.

lt will be observed that while the auger, the hopper and the mandrel all move rearwardly together, the carbon C ol' the battery cell is prevented lrom being carried with the auger b v the action ot the spring 75 which presses it constantly against the bottom ol the battery casing until su'licient material has been packed around the carbon to insure its maintenance in the cell against the 'lirictional pull ol` the auger wherein it lits.

lt will be understood ot course, that as long as the machine is running material is fed through the hopper i5 by the conveyer belt 234, by the agency oli which the material l, is brought Vfrom the source ol supply 35, and i as the driving gearing ol the roll 33 is controlled by the clutch 25v26, the eonveyer is caused to operate only when the auger is in rotation.

\Vliile l have herein described in some detail, for purposes oi' a 'lull disclosure, an opera l ative embodiment oi my invention particul .larly adapted for a specrlied use, it will be IIO - described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, of the United States, is:

1. In a machine of the character described, an axially movable packing auger, means for supplying material to the auger movable therewith, and means for rotating the auger.

2. In a machine ofthe character described, the combination oi an axially-movable packing auger, a hopper wherein part of said. auger works, longitudinally movable with the auger, and means for rotating the auger.

3. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a frame, a carriage mounted to slide longitudinally in said irame, a hopper carried by said carriage, an auger extending into said hopper and movable with the carriage, and means for rotating the auger.

4. In a machine of the character described, the combination oi a frame, a carriage mounted to slide longitudinally in said frame, a hopper carried by said carriage, an auger associated with said hopper to receive material therefrom, said auger being movable with said carrier, and having one end projecting from said hopper for coaction with a receptacle to be packed, means for holding against longitudinal movement relative to the iframe a receptacle to be packed, and means for resisting movement of the auger away from said receptacle.

5. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a frame, a carrier mounted for longitudinal movement in said frame, a rotatable auger associated. with said carriage for axial movement with said carriage, and a hollow mandrel carried by said carriage for positioning the receptacle to be packed relative to the auger.

6. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a frame, a carriage mounted for longitudinal movement in said frame, an auger extending through said carriage and arranged to move axially with the carriage, means for supplying material to said auger, a hollow mandrel surrounding the Free extremity of the auger for positioning a receptacle relative to said auger, said mandrel being associated with the carriage movement therewith, and means 'for preventing l ongitudinal movement of a receptacle associated with said mandrel relative to the frame.

'7. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a frame, an axially movable auger in said frame, means for rotatin0- said auger, means tending to return said tively connected with the auger and the other f operatively connected with a relatively stationary p art ol the machine.

i 9. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a frame, a rotatable auger axially movable therein, means for driving the auger in rotation, means for controlling the connection of the driving means and auger arranged to automatically break such driving connection, when the auger reaches one limit of movement, and means arranged for control by an operator for returning the auger fromisaid limit of movement to the other.

l0. In a machine oi' the character described, the combination of the frame, a rotatable auger axially movable within predetermined limits, means for driving the auger in rotation, means for controlling the connection of said driving means and auger arranged to automatically break such driving connection when the auger reaches one limit of axial movement, and to restore such connection when the auger reaches its other limit of axial movement, and means, arranged ior control by an operator, for returning the auger vfrom one limit or movement to the other.

11. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a frame, a rotatable auger movable axially in said frame, a stop for receptacles to be lled, movable into and out of operative position, means for driving the auger in rotation, and automatic means for moving the stop to and from operative position in proper timed relation to axial movement of the auger.

l2. In a machine of the character described., a packing auger, a means for axially positioning a receptacle to be packed relative to the auger, one of said parts being axially movable relative to the other, and the positioning means being movable to and from operative position, and automatic means for moving said positioning' means to and from inoperative position when the auger and stop reach axial positions .in predetermined relation to each other.

13. In a machine of the character de- IOO IIO

IIE

scribed, a frame, an auger mounted for rotation in the frame, a stop for axially positioning a receptacle relative to the auger, said stop being movable into and out of operativerelation to the auger, and said auger and stop being relatively movable axially of the auger, and means controlled by the auger for moving the stop to and from operative position.

14. 1n a machine of the character described, a bed plate, a carriage movable longitudinally oi the bed plate, a rotatable packing auger axially movable with the movements of the carriage, a shaft connected with said auger, extending beyond the carriage, a clutch member loosely rotatable relative to said shaft, a coacting clutch member non-rotatable relative to said shaft, a movable stop for axially positioning the receptacle, a rod operatively connecting the stop and the movable clutch member, and a part operatively associated with the carriage cooperating with the rod to automatically move the same to transmit operating power to the clutch and stop when the carriage reaches a predetermined position.

15. In a machine of the character described, a frame, a carriage movable therein, a rotatable conveyer, means lor driving said conveyer in rotation including a clutch, means for operating the clutch, means associated with the carriage for actuating said operating` means to open the clutch when the carriage reaches one limit or movement, means tending to return said carriage from said limit et' movement in the opposite limit oi movement, and means, under the control of an operator, for releasing the last said means, and operating the clutch controlling mechanism to close the clutch.

16. In a machine of the character described, a packing auger, an open hopper into which said auger extends, a source ol' material supply, a conveyor 'for transferring the material from the source oi' supply to the hopper, and a scraper' associated with the hopper to scrape material 'from the conveyer to cause it to l'all into the hopper.

17. .ln a machine ol` the character described, a packing auger, a hopper for supplying material thereto, a conveyor Vl'or conveying material to the hopper, a continually running driving member, a shalt for driving the auger, means 'l'or connecting or disconnecting the shatt and the continually running means, and means for driving the conveyor associated with said auger shaft for rotation simultaneously therewith.

18. In a machine of the character described, the combination o'll a rotatable auger. a stop for receptacles to be lilled, one of said elements being movable relative to the other in a direction axial ol-- the auger, and the stop being movable in a direction transverse to the direction of the auger; means for driving the auger in rotation, and automatic means for moving the stop transversely of the axis of the auger in pro per timed relation to axial movement of the movable element.

In testimony whereof I hereunto set my hand in the presence olz two witnesses.

VINCENT G. APPLE. 1n the presence of L. M. ARNOLD, S. M. PECL". 

